Electric signal-transmitter



(No Model.)

J. KING.

ELECTRIC SIGNAL TRANSMITTER. N0. 256,486.`

Patented Ar. 18

N, PETERS. Plmko-Lnlmgmphef. washington D. c.

i UNITED p STATES PATENT OFFICE; i

JOHN KING, or ANsoNIA, CONNECTICUT.

, ELECTRIC SIGNAL-TRANSMITTER.

` SPECIFICATION' forming' part 0f Letters Patent NO. 256,486, datedAprillB, 1852.

Application nleaJune 29,1881. (No model.)

Toall whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN KING, of Ansonia, inthe county of New Haven and State of Gonnecticut, have invented newImprovements in Electric Signal-Transmitters; and I do hereby declarethefollowing, when taken in counection with the accompanying drawings andthe letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the saine, and which said drawings constitutevpart ofthis specification, and represent, in

Figure l, a front view; Fig. 2, a side view; Fig. 3, a vertical section;Fig. 4, a iront view of the plate with the finger removed; Fig. 5, aperspective view ot' the armature, detached.

This invention relates to a device for giving an electric signal orcall, and particularly to that class which are automatic-such as usedfor telephonie, messenger, and similar calls, and it consistsessentially in a plunger arranged in a dashpot, with a finger inconnection with it arranged to pass over the points ot' connectionwithout contact as the plunger is raised and to be brought into Contactwith and so as to unite the points ot' connection as the plunger slowlydescends, as more fully hereinafter described.

The dash-pot, as represented, consists of a hollow cylinder, A, closedat its lower end, so as to contain glycerine, or whatever liquid may beused. Within the cylinder is a plunger, consisting of a piston, B,attached to the lower end of a piston-rod, G,.and movable with the rod,the rod passing through a suitable stuifing-box, D, at the upper end,vand there provided with a weighted head, E. The piston is constructedwith a large opening, c, tted with a valve opening downward, and alsowith a small perforation, b, so that,the cylinder being filled to theproper extent with a suitable liquid, the piston, standing near thebottom, as in Fig. 3, may be freely and quickly raised, the liquid abovepassing rapidly down through the large opening in the piston; but assoon as the power which raised the piston is removed the weight E forcesthe piston downward.

l This closes the valve of the larger openings,

and so that only the small perforation b is left for the liquid to passupthrough above the piston, which makes the descent of the piston verymuch slower than its rise. In front of this dash-pot is a plate, F, towhich, on one side,'is a post, G, for the battery-wire, and on the otherside a like post, H, for the line-Wire, over which the signal is to becarried. From these posts branches extend toward the center, as

seen in Fig. 4, (here represented as 1 2 3.) r

From the plunger of the dash-pot an arm,

AL, extends outward and is turned down, as at P, in front of andparallel with the plate F at its lower end. The nger 7L is hinged so asto be turned out and in-that is, from or toward the plate F-and moves ina path between the points ot' connection d cf, and upon its inner. faceis constructed with a single point, z', (see Fig. 5,) which, as itpasses down, will successively strike the several'points of both linesand successively make connection between the point of one line and thecorresponding point of the other line, hence will make and break thecircuit successively at the said points and give the required signal. Asconnection should only be made while the linger is moving slowly-thatis, downward-it is turned out from the plate in its ascent, so as toavoid connection with the points. This is best done by a rib, n,projecting on one side,over which a pin, i', in the linger will ride, soas to raise or turn the finger outward, as seen in broken lines, 'Fig.3,and after the finger has passed up above all the points to be connected,the pin r escapes from the rib n, and then the nger is forced inward bya spring, s, and passes down free from the rib u, and in a path to makethe connections, as before described. The pin 'r is made movable to theright and left, or trans versely. As it approaches its extreme downwardmovement it strikes an inclined rib, t, on the side opposite the rib u,which forces the pin toward the said rib, so that in its ascent it willmake engagement with the rib n to raise it or turn it outward. Then, asthe iinger approaches its extreme upward movement,the

IOS

is inclined` at its upper end, and which forces the pin back out of theway of the rib n, so that in descending the finger will make and breakthe circuit, as before described.

Instead of a weight on the plunger, a spring may be applied, or theplunger itself may be made sufficiently heavy to avoid thc necessity ofadded weight or spring. If a spring be applied, the apparatus may beinverted, in which case the finger would make its connections in anupward movement. I therefore wish to be understood by the term descentas meaning the slow movement produced by the dash-pct.

It will be evident to those skilled in this art that various devices maybe substituted for the ribs n and tand the movable pin 1 to throw thefinger out ofthe way of the points of connection in its upward movementand bring it into line therewith in its descent. Hence I do not wish tobe understood as limiting my invention to this particular construction.

I do not broadly claim a plunger arranged in a dash-pot to operate adevice passing over points so as to make and break an electric circuit,as such, I am aware, is not new; but

What I do claim is- The combination of a dash-pot and the plungerarranged therein for slow descent, an arm extending from the plunger,the finger hinged at one end of said arm and so as to move in a pathparallel with the plunger, a plate parallel with said arm,to which thewires to be connected are brought, the points ot' connection arranged inthe path ofthe descending armature, and device, substantially such asdescribed, to turn the armature out ot' the path ot' said points as thearmature ascends and to bring it into a path to connect said points asthe armature descends, substantially as described.

J OHN KING.

Witnesses:

DANIEL E. McMAHoN, W. O. WALLACE.

